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Operator screwing in a T-Block ground screw by hand with the T-handle, standing on the block paving of a yard.

How it works · Installation method

Installation by hand, with the T-handle wrench

For small jobs and for places no machine can reach: all you need is the right wrench and one or two people. The T-Block screws in, takes the structure straight away and, at the end of its life, unscrewed, it leaves no trace.

When to use it

Hand installation works as long as arm strength is enough to take the T-Block down to its design depth: in practice, up to the models of the T6 series. Beyond that you move on to the power driver with reaction bar or to the hydraulic rotary drive.

  • Fences and signs, with headless T-Block models that take the post
  • Gazebos, pergolas, garden sheds, decks
  • Paved yards: open a hole in the paver and screw through it
  • Courtyards, embankments, riverbanks: places a machine cannot reach
  • Just a few points, where bringing in a machine is not worth it

What you need

Everything you need fits in a bag: the right wrench depends on the T-Block head.

For T-Block models with a hexagon head

A T-handle and a socket that matches the T-Block head: the size is given on the model data sheet. The kits already contain both parts; the adapter lets you use a 1" drive socket on the 3/4" handle.

For the headless T-Block models designed for it

Tube wrench and through bar. Which models they fit is stated on each accessory page.

For headless T-Block models for a Ø60 post

The temporary hexagon interface slides into the top of the T-Block and takes the 60 mm socket. It comes off when installation is finished.

Step by step

  1. Installation points marked with red spray paint on gravel, with small holes already opened for the T-Block ground screws.
    WindCity, Torbole (TN)

    Step 1: Mark the points

    With a tape measure, string line and pegs, or a dot of spray paint, mark where the T-Block ground screws will go, at the spacing set by the design.

  2. Rotary hammer with a pilot drill bit opening the pilot hole in the ground, in front of a row of T-Block ground screws ready to go.

    Step 2: If the ground is hard, drill a pilot hole

    A small hole, not an excavation: it clears stones and roots near the surface and helps the T-Block start straight. On a paved yard you open a hole in the paver. In sand and loose soils it is usually not needed.

  3. Exploded view of the 3/4 inch T-handle, the socket and the hexagon head of the T-Block: how they fit together.
    Hexagon head
    Exploded view of the Ø60 tube wrench with its through bar, above a headless T-Block: how they fit together.
    CMT1F tube wrench

    Step 3: Get the wrench ready

    Each T-Block is screwed in with a socket that matches the size of its head: the size is given on the model data sheet. The socket fits on the T-handle. For the headless T-Block models designed for it there is a tube wrench with a through bar: the accessory page says which models it fits. For the headless T-Block models for a Ø60 post there is the temporary hexagon interface: it slides into the top of the T-Block, takes the 60 mm socket and comes off when installation is finished.

    Model data sheetsCMT1F tube wrenchMCM20ZE barITHL70B60M12FP temporary interface

  4. Gloved hands on the T-handle screwing a T-Block ground screw through the hole in a carport base plate, on paving.
    Gloved hands on the T-handle with the socket fitted on the head of a T-Block going into the lawn.

    Step 4: Screw it in

    Set the tip on the mark, hold the T-Block upright and turn clockwise. Stop now and then to check it stays vertical: correcting it in the first turns is easy, halfway down it is not. The longer models are a two-person job.

  5. Hexagon head of the T-Block at finished level inside the hole opened in the paving block.

    Step 5: Check the level and plumb

    The head must reach the planned height and the shaft must be plumb: a spirit level held against the shaft or the head is enough to check it.

  6. Foot of a road sign post inserted in the top of a headless T-Block, flush with the ground.

    Step 6: Fix the structure

    Whatever needs to be supported is fixed on the head: a base plate, a bracket, a post foot. On headless T-Block models the post slides into the top.

  7. Step 7: At the end of its life, unscrew it

    With the same wrench, anticlockwise. The T-Block comes out whole: unscrewed, it leaves no trace, and there is no concrete block to break out.

Caution

What not to do, what to watch out for

  • Keep the T-Block vertical from the very first turns: straightening it once it is halfway in is difficult.
  • If the wrench stops turning before the design depth, do not force it: drill a pilot hole or switch to a method with the power driver or a machine.

See it done

Hand installation from start to finish, with the T-handle. Video hosted on YouTube: it only loads when you press play.
A road sign on a headless T-Block, installed by hand. Video hosted on YouTube: it only loads when you press play.

The other methods

Every stage of a job

Got a project?

Tell us what you need to install and where: we will help you choose the model and the installation method. The configurator suggests the T-Block series and quantity, starting from the application and the soil.

Contact us Open the configurator